We posted a simple article on yeast infections — with tips for prevention. We also posted about an anti-choice bill that will be heard at the State Senate tomorrow. If you live in Arizona, please read this post and click on the link that will allow you to email members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and voice your displeasure! And lastly, one of our bloggers resumed her biweekly habit of rounding up the most inspiring and enraging pro-choice news stories on the ‘net.
Back to my obsession with BBC series this week – a well overdue review of Jekyll (2007) and the romanticization of abusers.
Rick Santorum promises to lecture ‘minorities’ about food stamps and the gummint dole. Will he tell Grandma to get a job? Elderly women of all races depend on food stamps. Was it better when they ate cat food? Does he think they should eat their cats? Is Grandma a Minority? Understanding children and self with archetypes… Learning About Archetypes With Homestarrunner ‘Man Suffers Heart Attack at Heart Attack Grill’ I hope one of the sexy nurse waitresses had the sense to call 911… It Was Bound to Happen
I started the week off by pointing out the Christianity fail that occurs when cardinals and other Christians use the word “atheist” as a generic term of opprobrium. After musing about the pros and cons of the Ashes to Go movement that has sprung up in some parts of the church on Ash Wednesday, I did a some cheerleading for Joan of Arc and Jerome for some Lent Madness silliness. I wrote about a Quaker practice that I admire as a model for discourse on controversial and divisive issues. And I reblogged a very important series that Women In Theology is hosting, that centers the voices and experiences of Catholic women who have faithfully tried to follow church teaching on contraception by practicing NFP (Natural Family Planning).
Georgia church thinks Virgin Mary is a stripper, due to nursing the baby Jesus. This is partly an Echidne signal boost (though she probably doesn’t need it). Chicks can play: Chilling out to Cotten style and Etta Baker blues. Redux: A look at Mary Ann Shadd, early Canadian publisher, abolitionist and suffragette. My homage to James Poulson. No, really. I couldn’t resist. What are men for?
I wrote about my experiences getting food stamps, and some thought about the people who judge what people buy with an EBT card: http://ethecofem.blogspot.com/2012/02/on-dole.html And some thoughts on how most of the people who complain about union benefits and wages, as well as certain government programs, are acting out of envy: http://ethecofem.blogspot.com/2012/02/thoughts-on-envy-unions-and-social.html
Diving into calculus, why the simplest concepts can make you stumble, and a possibly unsympathetic prof: http://onefemalegaze.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/mathochism-the-limit-does-not-exist/
I have been to an enormous quantity of weddings recently. This has given rise to many Thoughts, of an amorphous and toddler-esque nature. The Daily Mail’s recent onslaught of transphobia has pretty much robbed me of the will to live. And I can’t remember if I’ve already shamelessly self-promoted this one, but Ken Livingstone’s seemingly homophobic remarks got me thinking about who we afford the benefit of the doubt.
Blood is Thicker than Water: A Different Sort of Racism About cultural fundamentalism in the Israeli anti-miscegenation movement. That is, the current-day movement of people who don’t want Jewish women to be in relationships with Palestinian men.
I started a blog this week! I want it to be a feminist community, especially in Pittsburgh but everywhere really. Give it a look! And I am always looking for guest posts, too, so I would love some contributions. http://Www.thefemi-yinzmystique.blogspot.com
The Anti- Sex Trafficking Movement and the Sex Workers Rights Movement Need to Work Together – great discussion in the comments here too. Sex Work is to Sex Trafficking as Sex is to Rape.
I’m excited about the upcoming release of my new book!: If Beauty Is Inside, Why Do We Hate Our Guts: Pop Culture, Sexism, & Body Image. You can check out most of the first chapter on my website http://www.BeautyIsInside.com/book, along with my blog. I’m also on Facebook and on Twitter @_BeautyIsInside.
Hey! I’m Nicci, I’m a college student and a blogger and lately I put out an entry called “Thin Privilege and Size Acceptance: An Exploration” http://fatfempinup.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/thin-privilege-size-acceptance-an-exploration/ the point was to give thin people an idea of what fat acceptance is really about and how their privilege has a hand in re-enforcing fat stigmas I also wrote a blog post about the comments made about Michele Obama’s size and how the attack on her body and assumptions on her health are more about her race then her body http://fatfempinup.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/michele-obamas-badonka-dont-fat-shaming-racial-undertones/ I’ve shamelessly self promoted! lol Thank you!
This is a very personal post, about rape culture, about how I personally have dealt with (and am still dealing with) sexual assault, and how it affects me in everyday conversation. It’s entirely my own experiences, and I don’t assume to make any generalisations about anyone else, but writing it has really helped me get some stuff off my chest. Trigger warnings for rape, of course. http://procnetheswallow.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/ongoing-battles-with-rape-culture-tw-for-rape-and-sexual-assault/
Calling yourself a feminist as a way to self-promote: http://clarissasblog.com/2012/02/22/want-to-self-promote-call-yourself-a-feminist/ Male identity and sexual performance: http://clarissasblog.com/2012/02/24/male-identity-and-sex/ The issue that makes my students abandon their customary indifference and rise in protest (it’s all about sex, of course): http://clarissasblog.com/2012/02/24/my-students-rise-in-protest/ On divorce: http://clarissasblog.com/2012/02/22/divorce-2/ Welcome to Illinois where women are cattle: http://clarissasblog.com/2012/02/22/welcome-to-illinois-where-women-are-livestock/
Some historical context about the anti-abortion movement: Changing Evangelical Views on Abortion and the Moral Majority’s Original Sin
“Kindness Boomerang” video – brief & inspirational: http://humaneconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/humane-educators-toolbox-kindness.html Throwing Out Fear with the Angel Food Cake Pan: http://humaneconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/guest-post-throwing-out-fear-with-angel.html How to help our children make the world a better place: http://humaneconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-help-our-children-make-world.html How one mom struggles with “the nag factor”: http://humaneconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/jennifer-lehr-struggles-with-nag-factor.html
I wrote a piece on the inherent hypocrisy of feminism – about how living in a world that we always disagree with is hard, and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up if we sometimes choose to participate in the patriarchy just to get by : http://amyliz.co.uk/2012/02/the-inherent-hypocrisy-of-feminism/
Genie wrote about how Mississippi legislators are trying to push through a personhood bill, even though it was soundly rejected by the same voters they claim to represent. I covered the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim students, and Jesse added a story out of Mississippi that isn’t getting the same news coverage. Taking a political stand against prison rape (responding to Jill). Supporting domestic workers’ rights. Making at least some of New York’s State Senators finally take a vote on protecting basic reproductive rights.
I’ve done a couple of guest blogs lately. Over at theglasshammer.com, I wrote one called “Engaging CEOs in gender diversity.” http://bit.ly/wmZ6lT In this one, I discuss the importance of engaging top leadership, and how to do it when they come up with well-intended but ultimately ineffective ideas. And at univsityworldnews.com, where I’ll be guest blogging every so often, I wrote one called “Why universities need more women at the top.” http://bit.ly/zSKAui It’s an overview of some of the basic issues in this discussion — a topic which I’m currently writing a book about. In other news, someone picked up on my “Equality targets as a leadership tool” http://bit.ly/zjx0aa, which suddenly had 100s of hits. Thank you! And the debate about “Why Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg must resign” goes on and on and on. http://bit.ly/zdfcPC Join us!
I wrote Walk Myself Thin about fat shaming, assholes, and used book stores. And reviewed Boost, a young adult novel about girls in sports, body pressures (both performance and aesthetic), and performance enhancing drugs. And in sheer fun stuff, my reaction to the Sh*t Barefoot Runners Say incarnation of the meme.
I’ve started a blog reviewing classic movies from the perspective of an ’80s-born progressive. An introductory post: https://before1984.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/film-before-84/ And a review of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir: https://before1984.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/the-ghost-and-mrs-muir-1947/
Hey-o, I wrote a post about Alberta’s tar sands and the proposed Northern Gateways pipeline and why they are realllllllllly bad news for Canada. The Canadian government is engaging in some pretty awful propaganda against anti-pipeline activists and they are gunning extremely hard for the pipeline to be approved. It’s really bleak but nothing is set in stone yet! And, for any Torontonians or others interested in the train wreck that is our mayor, the other website I write for posted this article about Rob Ford’s war on facts. Have a great week!
I wrote a personal piece on the struggles about writing about pop culture and girl culture in the academy.
I made a list of some of my favorite female-penned books on the craft of writing, and after taking a year off, I resurrected my photo blog.
This week at OK4RJ: We wrote about the revelation that law enforcement failed to alert us to the fact that a serial rapist was operating in our community for 20+ years: http://ok4rj.org/2012/02/why-am-i-not-surprised-on-the-recent-failures-of-law-enforcement-in-oklahoma/ The Oklahoma Personhood Act and appropriate reactions to it: http://ok4rj.org/2012/02/oklahoma-senators-arent-fooling-around/ A preview of Dirt Chior, a group of slam poets who performed at Take Root: Red State Perspectives on Reproductive Justice this weekend: http://ok4rj.org/2012/02/take-root-preview-dirt-choir-poetry-bazaar/ And why criminalizing abortion and the passage of personhood acts will also be bad for women seeking to carry their pregnancies to term: http://ok4rj.org/2012/02/take-root-preview-enough-with-the-criminalization-of-abortion/
Idle musings on the fact I have a son, so some of it must be about teh menz… http://mistressofboogie.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/this-is-not-about-teh-menz/
I’m so perplexed by the fact that Rick Santorum is the GOP frontrunner that this week I resorted to satire: First, a brief letter recommending that he solve the problem of promiscuity by forbidding women from wearing shoes. I still think this one is pretty funny — and at the rate he’s going, he seems likely to pick up my suggestion. And second, a slightly longer piece that shows that although the personhood bill has been temporarily tabled in Virginia, the GOP/ Santorum plan to shame women and reduce them to silence is going along according to plan. Because when you think about it, aren’t we all feminists in part because we object to the way women are shamed — for their imperfect bodies, their sexuality, their victimhood — and because we’re frustrated by the silence surrounding this shame?
Among other things, this week I wrote about what I’m calling “sizesploitation.” I also wrote a little piece about a great Dolly Parton tweet.
I wrote three pieces this week — the first was called Mission Possible and was about having what we need to fulfill one’s mission in life. The second was called We want it to sell, not smell which was about a conversation with a friend regarding the book I am working on and what i learned about food and farting. The third is These are my vows to me which is about the new agreements I have committed to living by after doing some in-depth reflection my life and the things I am choosing to no longer agree to.
I’ve had a quiet last two weeks, but I did write a post on the pressures I used to feel about activism and being involved in groups and causes, and how it was tied to my sense of self-worth. And a piece on the new student services and amenities fee at Australian universities and how people complaining about how “they shouldn’t have to pay for services they personally don’t use” should check their privilege, damnit.
A piece on the power of “minor” characters and “lesser” stories, bringing in Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Shakespeare: Hamlet and Harley Quin, or, “From Minor to Major”
Parenting Myth(o)s: Just You Wait– Is part of parenting complaining about it? How My View on Affirmative Action in Higher Ed has Evolved– I used to think that substituting race-based acceptance incentives with economic-based ones was a good idea. I don’t anymore. Gender Stereotyping with a Side of Product Promotion– I watched some TV ads while I was at the gym. It was disappointing. What Chrysler and Chipotle Tell Us About Ethical Consumption– An analysis of how two ads demonstrate the connection between what we buy and the world around us. Helpless Generation? A Response to Mickey Goodman– A HuffPo post declares Gen Y (my generation) a bunch of selfish kids ruined by helicopter parenting. I don’t think that’s the full picture.
Hey there! I’m from the F Collective, a Sydney (Aust) feminist collective. We’ve got a new blog series on Mondays, the F Collection. I interviewed Maeve of Lady Sings it Better, a femmo queer cabaret act, and wrote about women’s and queer visibility in the arts scene in Syd. http://fcollective.wordpress.com/
Paranormal Cinderellas : Looking at the tendency to turn female protagonists into Cinderellas who are nothing without love and are more than willing to give up everything for their male love interest. Cover Snark: Weapons Are A Girl’s Best Friend: Even when they give female protagonists weapons, they aren’t positioned to use them, instead they are delicately posed and this is somehow progressive? The Walking Dead Season Two, Episode Nine: Triggerfinger : A social justice look at the last episode of The Walking Dead Interview with Diana Rowland! : This week we interviewed author Diana Rowland author of Even White Trash Zombies get the Blues and The Kara Gillian Series.
This week I wrote about: Why hookup culture sucks and what can be done to fix it: http://miriammogilevsky.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/why-hookup-culture-sucks/ My delayed reaction to the dad who shot his daughter’s laptop: http://miriammogilevsky.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/when-tough-love-becomes-abuse/ These two are more personal: A reflection on turning 21: http://miriammogilevsky.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/days-ive-been-an-adult/ And, the day after that, a reflection on stopping my antidepressants: http://miriammogilevsky.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/goodbye-lexapro/
Parental expectations are related to bulimia in African-American women Posted on Binge Eating and Bulimia: The latest psychological research
We had a couple of great guest posts this week at re:Cycling, the blog of the Society of Menstrual Cycle Research: Saniya Ghanoui wrote about all the wrapping sold with disposable products and the menstrual shame wrapped up with them: All Wrapped Up. Lisa Leger wrote a guest post about how sex education for teens should include more about ovulation and fertility: Sex Ed for Teens: Where’s the Mucus? Also, the birth control calculator published at Mother Jones prompted me to write about all the calculations left out (like non-hormonal birth control, and side-effects of hormonal birth control): What’s missing from Mother Jones’ birth control calculator? As usual, we finished the week off with our round-up of women’s health links, most about the outrageous anti-woman, anti-birth control U.S. politics of late, including Second City’s response to the all-male hearing on women’s health.
A post all about bar jokes, Hustler, Hugh Hefner, Condoms, Brave New World, 1984, Planned Parenthood, Abortion, Strippers, Whores, Frat Boys, and Troll Faces: http://katreadsbooks.blogspot.com/2012/02/hustler-hugh-hefner-hustler-condoms.html
Why do we need femininsm if women and men are equal now? What if we stopped believing the lie that we live in a post-feminist world? Or would that be too disturbing knowing that the Penn State ordeal, Herman Cain allegations, gendered violence during the Arab Spring, and so on are all connected? Home Birth, Part II. On considering home birth and its connection to feminism. Inward Change, Outward Manifestation. My husband and I legally changed our names upon marriage to a completely new name. Here’s the aftermath. I’m a bad wife and feminist because… A discussion on how my identity, personality, and faith intersect between these two loaded terms. The Politics of Nostalgia. Why nostalgia is a powerful emotional and political force in society, and why we need to set the record straight.
I am really proud of myself this week. I had two belly dance performances, on Thursday and Friday, and I hosted our monthly WomynFolk Clothing Swap. Today was Karma Yoga at the Kosmic Trading Post, and planning meeting for this year’s Beltane festival. All this and I still posted 5 pieces! Amazons to Know – weekly round up of the fight for all women’s rights and equality Transphobia from within the Pagan World – A short reactionary piece on the Z Budapest “genetic women only” ritual at PantheaCon last week. It’s been the topic of conversation in the Pagan world this week and a unique chance to educate the community on gender equality. Witch Hunter…again – This is practically a weekly post, not because I want it to be. Spaghetti Taco Camp – A brief update on my Burning Man theme camp, complete with our current camp map. D is for Diversity – Written for the Pagan Blog Project, this post was inspired by the discussions around gender inclusivity in the Pagan communities. It is a broad look at diversity and its benefits in that community specifically.
This week, I became aware of Tamara Ecclestone, a billionaire 27yo heiress. She loves to promote the fact that she exists and is fabulously wealthy, and did so with this cutting edge photo shoot, where she apes being poor while wearing $1000s of designer clothing! Quelle horreur!
Southern California lost an incredible equality activist in a very difficult way last week: http://ablogoftheirown.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/gone/
I am ok with splitting the acting awards by sex at the Oscars. http://canbebitter.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/oscars-edition-is-splitting-the-acting-awards-sexist/
http://ollieroberts.blogspot.com/2012/02/decolonising-ones-mind.html I’m busy thinking about social justice work and the terms we use to help ourselves do it … Thanks for this space, Feministe, I’m too cowardly to promote in other ways!
A dicussion of immigration rights in a same-sex relationship, and a plea for help: http://disorientatedgraduate.blogspot.com/2012/02/moment-of-your-time-please.html Why taxpayers money paying for ‘work experience’ schemes at enormous companies is a tremendously bad idea: http://disorientatedgraduate.blogspot.com/2012/02/flaws-in-government-work-experience.html
Okay, it was a little over a week ago — but I posted about the anger that Greeks are feeling right now on my travel blog, http://www.theepicadventurer.com. Plus, if anyone is going to the NY Times Travel Show in NYC next weekend, I would love to make some feminist friends there!
We talk about a piece on rape at Feministe. This I am pretty much linking for SHEER META VALUE. http://noseriouslywhatabouttehmenz.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/hard-hitting-piece-on-male-rape-at-feministe/ On the idea that men all want to have fun and it is women’s job, as humorless killjoys, to prevent this horror. http://noseriouslywhatabouttehmenz.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/the-domestication-narrative/ Suffolk County, Virginia, bans cross-gender clothing. http://noseriouslywhatabouttehmenz.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/virginia-school-district-full-of-shit/
Woman-killing song acceptable for use in Volkswagen commercial, and nobody seems to care: http://daisysdeadair.blogspot.com/2012/02/volkswagen-sucks.html And don’t forget, its your *political duty* to eat Girl Scout cookies this year! yeah! http://daisysdeadair.blogspot.com/2012/02/girl-scout-cookie-time.html
I wrote about The Hunger Games and how it deals with systems of oppression. http://scribblesandsonnets.blogspot.com/2012/02/hunger-games-systems-of-oppression.html
All across the country, through legislative proposals, government regulations, and political rhetoric, war is being waged upon women, their bodies, their private interests, and their right to self-determination. This is occurring without, and in spite of, the participation of the same women being affected …by these actions, and whose futures, and those of their families, are being unilaterally determined. In this modern era of limits, people in power are in a race to divide the spoils of power, and the means being used are becoming more and more shortsighted. Saturn has devoured his son, and now looks to his daughters. Our organization is determined to see that this race to the bottom does not claim the rights and liberties of over one half of the populace. We will not suffer the burdens of those whose ambitions would be fulfilled by the destruction of the human worth of the mothers, sisters and daughters of this great nation. Enough is enough. While the logic of the disaffection of the majority of the electorate is impossible to understand, we cannot afford to wait and see how this all works out. This war on women must be resisted, and won, before the toxic effects of the current national conversation become irrevocable reality. We have been denied a seat at the table, but will not be denied our humanity. Please join us in changing the dialogue and refocusing attention toward the very serious issues this nation faces, and away from the disingenuous and perversely pornographic focus upon the sexual organs of our mothers, sisters and daughters, and their relationship with their physicians and their own bodies. The issues include: Reproductive rights Woman’s health issues Education Safety and wholesomeness of food supply Crimes against women and children Workplace equality There is a very real and growing non-partisan concern that women are being sacrificed upon the altar of ambition, and we are determined to deny Saturn his second course. Thank for your help and support. Your mother, and your mother’s mother, and all women everywhere would be proud. Info@UniteWomen.org
Last week, I wrote a response blog to a “new” feminist’s ideas of how women should live their lives (it includes getting plastic surgery and marrying young…she is serious): http://meantforsomethingbetter.com/2012/02/17/response-to-bad-advice/ Today I posted a Reflections piece of well-being: http://meantforsomethingbetter.com/2012/02/27/reflections/
I know it’s a day late. But I’ve been contemplating some personal questions of late. Namely, atheists are protected by the U.S. Constitution, right? Or maybe we’re just godless bantha pudu? http://wp.me/p1FE65-2s And my Opinion on another atheist’s Opinion: What Atheists Can Learn From Religion http://t.co/rQozitiT